Consumo alimentar de crianças de 6 a 12 meses segundo a exclusividade do aleitamento materno

Abstract

Objective: To compare food intake of 6 to 12-month-old infants who received and did not receive exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at the pediatric clinic of the Uberlândia Clinical Hospital from 2015 to 2016 that included 67 children aged 6 to 12 months. The mothers of the infants were interviewed through questionnaires containing demographic, socioeconomic, maternal data and data on infant feeding and breastfeeding. It was generate a variable identifying EBF during the first 6 months of life. We compare the frequency of EBF during the first six months and food intake in the period of 6 to 12 months. Relative frequency and chi-square test with significance of 5% in the Epiinfo 3.0 program were used to analyze these data. Results: Of the analyzed babies, 23.9% received exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. The frequency of vegetables or fruits was higher among infants who were EB in the first six months (93.3% vs 76.1%, p-value=0.02), the only food that presented the highest percentage of consumption among children in EBF. Infants whose parents were over 20 years of age, schooling over 11 years of age and current consumption of breast milk showed higher consumption of natural foods, except vegetables, than industrialized foods such as yogurt, porridge with milk and sweets. Conclusions: The frequency of EBF was low and the frequency of infants who were exclusively breastfed until the recommended age was also low. We emphasize that vegetable and fruit consumption was higher among those children who exclusively breastfed up to six months.